A survey of role stress, coping and health in Australian and New Zealand hospital nurses

Chang, Esther M. L., Bidewell, John W., Huntington, Annette D., Daly, John, Johnson, Amanda, Wilson, Helen, Lambert, Vicki A. and Lambert, Clinton E. (2007) A survey of role stress, coping and health in Australian and New Zealand hospital nurses. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 44 8: 1354-1362.


Author Chang, Esther M. L.
Bidewell, John W.
Huntington, Annette D.
Daly, John
Johnson, Amanda
Wilson, Helen
Lambert, Vicki A.
Lambert, Clinton E.
Title A survey of role stress, coping and health in Australian and New Zealand hospital nurses
Journal name International Journal of Nursing Studies  (ERA 2012 Listed)    (ERA 2010 Rank A*)   Check publisher's open access policy
Publication date 2007
Sub-type Article
DOI 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2006.06.003
Volume number 44
Issue number 8
ISSN 0020-7489
1873-491X
Start page 1354
End page 1362
Total pages 9
Place of publication Bromley, United Kingdom
Publisher Elsevier
Language eng
Subject 1110 Nursing
Formatted abstract Background:
Previous research has identified international and cultural differences in nurses’ workplace stress and coping responses. We hypothesised an association between problem-focused coping and improved health, emotion-focused coping with reduced health, and more frequent workplace stress with reduced health.

Objectives:
 Test the above hypotheses with Australian and New Zealand nurses, and compare Australian and New Zealand nurses’ experience of workplace stress, coping and health status.

Participants and settings:
Three hundred and twenty-eight New South Wales (NSW) and 190 New Zealand (NZ) volunteer acute care hospital nurses (response rate 41%) from randomly sampled nurses.

Design and method:
 Postal survey consisting of a demographic questionnaire, the Nursing Stress Scale, the WAYS of Coping Questionnaire and the SF-36 Health Survey Version 2.

Results:
Consistent with hypotheses, more frequent workplace stress predicted lower physical and mental health. Problem-focused coping was associated with better mental health. Emotion-focused coping was associated with reduced mental health. Contrary to hypotheses, coping styles did not predict physical health. NSW and NZ scored effectively the same on sources of workplace stress, stress coping methods, and physical and mental health when controlling for relevant variables.

Conclusions:
Results suggest mental health benefits for nurses who use problem-solving to cope with stress by addressing the external source of the stress, rather than emotion-focused coping in which nurses try to control or manage their internal response to stress. Cultural similarities and similar hospital environments could account for equivalent findings for NSW and NZ
Keyword Role stress
Workplace stress
Coping
Physical health
Mental health
Australia
New Zealand
Q-Index Code C1
Q-Index Status Provisional Code
Institutional Status Non-UQ

Document type: Journal Article
Sub-type: Article
Collections: Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) - Collection
School of Nursing and Midwifery Publications
 
Versions
Version Filter Type
Citation counts: TR Web of Science Citation Count  Cited 15 times in Thomson Reuters Web of Science Article | Citations
Scopus Citation Count Cited 22 times in Scopus Article | Citations
Google Scholar Search Google Scholar
Access Statistics: 229 Abstract Views  -  Detailed Statistics
Created: Thu, 19 Mar 2009, 16:41:38 EST by Alexandra Cooney on behalf of School of Nursing and Midwifery